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Opinions Archive: 2006

Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND) Queen’s has initiated a targeted divestment campaign that is not being carried out in isolation. This Pan-American initiative has had great success in the United States, with successful campaigns at Harvard, Yale, Brown, Stanford, University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth ...Continue...

Canadians commemorate the Montreal Massacre every Dec. 6 with a National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. The day is marked by vigils, remembrance ceremonies and discussion workshops.Continue...

"I find it difficult to understand how those involved in putting together this exposé think that raising cultural issues in such a way is going to solve any problems on campus. Are there more white people than the “other” on campus? Yes. Are the Journal and the AMS guilty of labeling people? Definitely. And so what if the school isn’t as multicultural as York or U of T?" reamarks a Journal reader.Continue...

On the outside of Queen's uniforms, the word “Queen’s” is prominently displayed for all to admire. On the inside, however, hides a nasty little secret. The athletes’ perspiration wasn’t the only sweat to touch the uniform.Continue...

Last Tuesday was a big day for our neighbours. After a mid-term election that saw the Democrats rest control of the Senate and House of Representatives away from the Republicans, President George W. Bush said his party took a “thumpin’.”Continue...

Ms. Gervan mistakenly received a copy of an e-mail in which the editor of The Journal told his staff, in strong terms, not to write about “these people.” Ms. Gervan has accepted the editor’s apology, but the issue deserves attention. As someone who thinks 'these people'not only newsworthy but an urgent example of the enormous hypocrisy of the 'war on terror' affecting us all, I am worried by the unprofessional bias and attitude expressed in the editor’s instructions to his staff. The Queen's community should know that the Journal may be deliberately disallowing reporting about some significant events and issues.Continue...

There is one major thing that has come to trouble me about local politics here in my native city. Kingston has a total population of about 120,000, and students at Queen’s University make up more than ten percent of this total.Continue...

" Congratulations to Brian Maxwell, ArtsSci ’08, for his entrepreneurial prowess in setting up lecturetally.com and exposing us to “the paradox of lectures.” Here’s the paradox: it can be argued that lectures are outdated, boring and certainly not the best way to help adults learn. This mode of information transmission focuses on the auditory sense, while depriving our other senses from engaging in the learning process. However, they are still used widely in most academic institutions today."Continue...

CAIRO—A column about politics in the Arab world is bound to be over-ambitious. Several volumes at least are needed to fairly encapsulate the complex and intricate history of a region plagued for centuries by war and oppression.Continue...

"The declaration posed in the Journal that lecturetally.com was an example of students finding a way to get what they need without going to class is wrong. Going to class is vital in achieving an education, and the whole point of being at university in the first place," writes-in lecturetally.com founder Brian Maxwell.Continue...

While some students are comfortable discussing these issues with academic staff to be granted extensions or waivers, others silently endure these crises, thinking they are trivial. No personal issue is trivial. Maybe your TA can’t give you an extension, but that doesn’t make it an insignificant issue to other people and, more importantly, to yourself. Queen’s is known for its high standards. Along with the contemporary push to be the super student—smart, athletic, fun, serious, cool, hot—we are constantly pressed to excel in everything.Continue...

"Early classes, boring lectures and online resources are no excuse to miss classes. Each student pays about $800 to take each of their courses and to learn from someone who is a professional and an expert in their field. Is downloading skeleton notes really worth $800?"Continue...

QUMSA along with the Canadian Federation of Students, the TMA and SGPS, will be hosting a forum on Nov. 1 at 6 p.m., to address Islamophobia. Following a brief panel discussion, students and community members will be given an opportunity to come forth and share their own experiences and sentiments with regards to this topic, and all are encouraged to attend.Continue...

On Sept. 21, in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Prime Minister Stephen Harper made one thing clear. When it comes to the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan, “We will succeed.”Continue...

"In light of recent discriminatory events on campus, the AMS feels it necessary to issue the following statement: The AMS condemns those responsible for the recent distribution via Q-Link of hate propaganda against the Muslim faith and Muslim people."Continue...

Frank Milne, a Queen’s business and economics professor, thinks that Canadians want a “Harvard education with McDonald’s hamburger prices.” Milne spoke at last Sunday’s Great Debate in Grant Hall, organized by the AMS to explore issues surrounding Canadian postsecondary education.Continue...

"I was very offended when I picked up the last issue of the Journal. I never thought I would see our nation’s flag being burned—especially at Queen’s, the most prestigious university in Canada," writes Journal reader Austin Zygmunt.Continue...

"I am not sure how many students have noticed this, but there has been an increasing amount of sexist advertising being displayed in the men’s washrooms in the JDUC targeted against women," says Peter Saczkowski, ArtSci '07. "The first advertisements went up last year and I was disturbed by them at this point, but I figured that someone might notice and do something about it. Sadly, this did not happen and the advertisements are still there."Continue...